MANAMA, Bahrain — Ferrari suffered a nightmare at the Bahrain Grand Prix after an engine issue cost Charles Leclerc victory and Sebastian Vettel spun out of podium contention while fighting wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc was leading the race when he lost power from the energy recovery system on his Ferrari power unit, which provides a 160bhp boost in electrical power to the rear wheels. The loss of performance was dramatic, costing him roughly four seconds a lap, and by lap 48, Hamilton, who was running second, took the lead of the race. He dropped to third before a late Safety Car neutralised the order when both Renault cars retired with mechanical problems on lap 55.
Ferrari had locked out the front row of the grid and looked in contention for a one-two victory up until lap 38. Vettel was running second, off the pace of Leclerc, when Hamilton started to put pressure on him and loomed large in his mirrors.
The Mercedes driver lined the Ferrari up on the run down to Turn 4 before launching his car around the outside. The pair avoided contact, but Vettel lost control of the rear of his Ferrari and pirouetted in the middle of the track. The incident immediately wrecked Vettel’s tyres and the vibrations resulted in the front wing breaking off and folding underneath the car. He returned to the pits for a change of tyres and new front wing, rejoining the action ninth before rallying back to fifth.
The incident with Hamilton was reminiscent of a series of spins Vettel had in 2018 as he was fighting wheel-to-wheel with other cars. Ultimately, the lost points from those mistakes cost him a shot at last year’s championship. Vettel briefly led the race after beating teammate Charles Leclerc away from the lights at the start, but lost the position again on lap six at Turn 1.
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/26407678/engine-issues-cost-leclerc-ferrari-bahrain-win
